The challenge asks teams of 9- to 14-year-olds (9 to 16 outside North America) worldwide to research and present original ideas to enrich the current landscape of learning. Teams will also build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LegoMindstorms technology to solve a series of wisdom-gathering missions based on the theme.

More than 260,000 children in nearly 80 countries are expected to participate in the FLL event, with an additional 27,000 6- to 9-year-olds expected in the Junior FLL competition. Teams of up to 10 children, with two adult coaches, participate in the eight-week challenge, which culminates in high-energy, sports-like tournaments. Past challenges have included topics such as natural disasters, biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, quality of life for handicapped and senior populations, and transportation. [Read more...]

In addition, the brick computer contains TI’s CC2560 Bluetooth connectivity solution, which allows users to control their robot with a mobile device using an iOS or Android app. Lego Mindstorms EV3 is available in retail stores, and a special version of the platform, Lego Mindstorms EV3 Education, is available for classrooms through Lego Education.

The Lego Group and Nickelodeon are expanding their global partnership to develop construction toys inspired by the recently launched CG-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series. The collection is slated to launch in North America and the UK in January and will roll out in global markets later in the year. The companies have a long-standing relationship and first partnered together in 2006 to create Lego SpongeBob Squarepants. Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered on Sept. 29, drawing almost 12 million viewers during its premiere weekend.

One playset and select minifigures from the forthcoming line were unveiled at the Lego booth at New York Comic-Con at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from October 11 to 14.

Lego is celebrating a milestone birthday this year: the iconic building block company turns 80.

In celebration of the event, a short animated film about the Lego Group’s history from 1932 to 1968 has been produced. Watch the video here.

The Lego Group’s story started in 1932 when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded a production company for wooden toys in the Danish city of Billund. His central idea was, “Only the best is good enough.” The motto stayed, but other than that, a lot has changed.

The company has grown from the original small workshop to become the third largest producer of play materials in the world. It is currently represented in more than 130 countries with some 10,000 employees. The name Lego comes from the two Danish words “leg” and “godt,” which translates to “play well.”

Happy birthday, Lego.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

LEGO Group, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment, has launched the LEGO DC Super Heroes Movie Maker app on the iTunes App store. The app allows users to create their own stop-motion movie featuring some famous superheroes. The simple tools and guides make it easy to shoot, edit, and add music on an iPhone. and save it to your camera roll to share.

This post was originally written by Leah Rocketto and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.”

Coinciding with the European launch of Lego Universe, the Lego Group revealed new videos, screenshots, and art for the game on Friday. The North American launch is scheduled for Tuesday, October 26.

Lego Universe is published by the Lego Group, developed by NetDevil, and distributed in mass retail by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game invites players to use their imaginations to build objects and to creatively battle opponents. To learn more about Lego Universe, visit www.LegoUniverse.com.

The Lego Group has granted licensing rights to Dire Wolf Digital to create a new trading card game. The game, based on the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) Lego Universe, will release in 2011 and will feature both physical cards and digital properties for Macintosh, PC, and mobile devices.

Later this year, the LEGO Group will launch LEGO Universe, the first MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) based on the LEGO play experience. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) has signed on as the exclusive retail distributor of LEGO Universe outside of LEGO channels.

Developed by the LEGO Group and NetDevil, LEGO Universe enables players ages 8 and up to build, create, interact with friends, battle, and explore LEGO worlds. The MMOG is currently in a closed beta, and will release in the second half of the year.

New Products

Jakks Pacific Inc. has secured a licensing agreement with Lafig and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to produce toys and related products based on the Smurfs franchise, including the classic Smurfs brand and the upcoming Smurfs feature film premiering in August 2016. The worldwide master toy agreement includes the rights to produce figures, play sets, plush, [...]

On March 20, Nintendo will launch the Super Mario amiibo—Gold Edition, a gold-colored Mario figure that arrives on the same day as the Mario Party 10 game for the Wii U console. The new gold-colored Mario is compatible with multiple games that support the amiibo line of figures. Mario Party 10 features a new amiibo [...]

Jelly Jam Entertainment has partnered with Kids Preferred to launch The Moodsters, a new line of toys and books designed to teach kids the fundamentals of feelings. The Moodsters consist of five lovable detectives—Coz, Lolly, Snorf, Razzy, and Quigly—who come to the rescue whenever their friends, Zach and Zoey, have a feelings emergency. The stories [...]

The fifth season of TV series The Walking Dead will be accompanied by new The Walking Dead Minimates, from Diamond Select Toys and arriving at Toys “R” Us stores nationwide and toysrus.com in March. The new assortment features characters from the “All Out War” story arc featured in issues No. 115 to 126 of The [...]

Corus Entertainment‘s Nelvana has entered a partnership with Cepia LLC to bring the Zhu Zhu Pets brand back to store shelves, with Nelvana Studio producing a new animated series based upon the property. Nelvana Enterprises will also oversee global merchandising of the brand in conjunction with the distribution of the new series.